APP thematic lunchtime workshops

Join the Student Engagement and Enhancement team alongside staff and students from across the university as they explore key themes relating to our new Access and Participation Plan. Sessions are available to all, including staff and students.

The events will take place in the Student Centre and will mostly be led by a member of staff with expertise relevant to the theme. The sessions are designed to help deepen our understanding of these topics as well as learn more about the Student Experience in these thematic areas related to the APP. Please come ready to learn and feel free to bring your own lunch. Tea and coffee will be provided.

The APP through a Social Justice Praxis, 11th June 2025, 12-2pm, Woodland 5
In this session we will use the APP as a framework to foster creativity, collaboration and community through a Social Justice Praxis. We will reflect on how the language of the APP can be utilised to better understand and support students who may be disadvantaged within the university, and explore areas for continued engagement and collaboration within and beyond Sussex.

The sessions are suitable for any staff that support students, or anyone that wants to know more about our Access and Participation Plan work. Please bring your own lunch, tea and coffee will be provided.

Previous sessions:

Trauma-informed student support and staff resilience, 16th Oct 2024
In this workshop, Professor Kristi Langhoff introduced ‘trauma-informed practice’ as a framework for better understanding student needs and staff (including our own) experiences. We worked collectively, through a series of interactive activities, to adapt and redefine how principles of trauma-informed practice can support the wide and inclusive community of staff and students at Sussex.

Understanding ethnicity awarding gaps, Thu 7 Nov 2024
In this session, we presented some of the learnings collated by our Race Equity Advocates and BAME Student Connectors, and posed questions to support us in discussing this topic. Through this exploration, we aimed to deepen our understanding of our Ethnicity Awarding Gaps. In addition, we learnt more about how the experiences of our students can inform our practices, what we can do to improve cultural competency across the institution and ultimately move to a place of more deeply embedded racial equity.

Mature Students, 5th Dec 2024
The experiences of our mature students at Sussex are varied and we cannot think of them as one homogeneous group. This workshop explored the Mature Student Community at Sussex and considered the varied experiences our students may have upon entering and transitioning through university, and how we can best support their student journey.

The Class Divide , 6th Feb 2025, 12-2pm Woodland 5
We examined how the class divide impacts on students’ education and the role of social and cultural capital in students’ career prospects in this session. Facilitated by Class Divide, we also explored some practical steps we could take to better support students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Freedom of Speech , 20th March 2025, 12-2pm Woodland 5
In this session we explored the question: What is Freedom of Speech? Who gets to speak and who is silenced by Freedom of Speech legislation and are there any agendas which may impact on this? How we surface the voices of those who may be less able to speak at the university is central to the work of the APP and this session aimed to hone our deep listening skills to help aid this.

Cost of Living , 8th May 2025, 12-2pm Woodland 5
With student loans failing to keep up with inflation, and a rise in rent and basic household goods, the cost of being a student is higher than ever. In this session we explored what the unseen cost of learning is for our students, with a particular focus on those from APP backgrounds.